Empirical Studies of Copyright Litigation
Research Handbook on the Economics of Intellectual Property Law (Vol. II -- Analytical Methods) (Edward Elgar Publishing) (Forthcoming)
28 Pages Posted: 7 Dec 2015 Last revised: 12 Oct 2017
Date Written: October 11, 2017
Abstract
This essay summarizes the current state-of-the-art in the application of observational empirical tools to the study of copyright litigation. As a field, Empirical Legal Studies (or ELS) is relatively young, and the subfield of ELS applied to copyright litigation is in its infancy. Broadly speaking, the existing empirical studies of copyright litigation can be classified into three subcategories: studies of judicial behavior; studies of the day to day life of copyright litigation from the time cases are filed to their ultimate disposition; and studies of particular aspects of copyright doctrine. The essay reviews the existing literature and concludes with guidelines for researchers planning to undertake an empirical study of copyright litigation that represent current ‘best practices’.
Note: Draft in preparation for Peter S. Menell & David L. Schwartz (eds.), Research Handbook on the Economics of Intellectual Property Law (Vol. II -- Analytical Methods) (Edward Elgar Publishing, forthcoming 2016
Keywords: Intellectual Property, Copyright, Economics, Empirical, Litigation
JEL Classification: K00
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation